Miss May I Guitarist Robbed, Music Files and Recording Equipment Lost

Being on tour can be a tremendous amount of fun, but it also comes with the reality of being away from home for extended periods of time. While out on the road, Miss May I guitarist BJ Stead learned not all was well back home as he learned he had been robbed, losing thousands of dollars of personal items.

Among the items that were lost were Stead's MacBook Pro, which also housed recording software, external hard drives containing music files he had been working on and his recording rig in addition to video game consoles and various personal items like toiletries. In an effort to replace what was lost, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to help soften the financial hit. The guitarist detailed this event as well as what he will put the donations toward, stating,

Hello everyone, I hope this post finds you well. My name is Bj Stead, and I am the lead guitar player of the Ohio metal band Miss May I. Recently, on April 27th 2016, I was robbed of thousands of dollars worth of my personal belongings, all of which are necessary to make what I do for a living possible.

The most important thing lost, aside from personal belongings such as video game consoles, toiletries and necessities, was my MacBook Pro, as well as all of my recording equipment, and multiple external hard drives with projects I have been working on for months, as we will be going back to the studio to start the writing process for a new album in the next few months.

As we all know, the music industry is an extremely unforgiving business, especially for artists, but at the same time I very much love what I do, writing and recording music, being on the road, and playing for fans all over the world.

The money earned will be used for replacing my stolen MacBook Pro, my recording equipment, as well as all of the lost hardware and software that went along with it, so I can get back to doing what I've been doing for years, which is creating music for the greatest family in metal music, which is my Miss May I family.

Any donation helps, wether it's a penny, or a dollar! I can't express how grateful I am for doing what I do, and having some of the best, most supportive fans in the world, and I won't let one selfish thief ever take that from me. Thank you all so much for your time, and as always, stay metal!

Bj Stead

Fans looking to make a donation can do so through the GoFundMe page here.

Singer Levi Benton also lamented the loss of the band's music files on Twitter as seen below.

Miss May I are currently on tour with Memphis May Fire and We Came as Romans and all tour dates can be found here. The band wrapped up a tour in March, which also faced some unfortunate circumstances. While on the road, Miss May I were involved in two accidents, though nobody sustained any injuries during either.